Massive Mammoth Metal Recycling fire sends thick smoke across southeast Houston

Thick black smoke from Mammoth Metal Recycling rolled over Houston’s East End Monday afternoon, turning a recycling yard on Kellogg into both an air-quality concern and a test of how much local agencies knew before the blaze. The fire started shortly before 3 p.m. on June 22 and was still burning into Tuesday morning, with the plume visible for miles on Houston TranStar cameras and SkyEye13.

The flames involved a large pile of trash, mostly tires, along with industrial piping, a combination that helped drive the heavy smoke neighbors saw from homes in southeast Houston and the Manchester area. Houston Fire Department crews treated the blaze as a three-alarm fire, and Houston Chronicle reported about 200 firefighters responded. HFD expected crews to keep working hot spots for days, while Houston Health Department, Houston Police Department and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality all helped monitor the scene.

Air Alliance Houston said the fire was about the size of a football field and had been burning for roughly three hours when the group issued its statement. The organization said no injuries had been reported and that the fire had not spread to nearby homes. Even so, the lingering smoke kept residents on edge, and Houston Public Media reported Tuesday that the fire was still active that morning as state air-quality monitors stayed on scene.

The fire also exposed the company’s record beyond the burn pile. State records show Mammoth Metal Recycling has operated on Kellogg in southeast Houston since 2023, and federal court records tie the company to a $53 million Paycheck Protection Program fraud case. ABC13 reported the owner was charged with 13 others, later pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced next month. Harris County records also show the company owes more than $100,000 in delinquent taxes.

KPRC 2 News reported that the company had been cited twice in the month before the fire for illegal burning, a detail that raises fresh questions about oversight at a facility sitting in a densely populated part of Harris County. Former Houston City Council member and Harris County Judge candidate Letitia Plummer called for more transparency from local and state agencies after the smoke spread across the East End. For neighbors watching the plume drift over their rooftops, the immediate demand is simple: clear health information, a full cleanup plan and enforcement that matches the scale of the risk.